Using Typoena

The basics

The editor is modal, like Vim. In normal mode the letter keys move the cursor and run commands; press i to start typing and Esc to stop. Motions, operators, registers, visual mode, undo and redo, and dot-repeat all work the way you'd expect. If you don't think in Vim yet, Cmd-S saves and the arrow keys move — that's enough to get writing.

i a o

Enter insert mode — before, after, or on a new line

Esc

Back to normal mode

Cmd-S

Save the current file, from any mode

Cmd-P

Open the file palette (fuzzy find across your notes)

/

Search; then n / N for the next and previous match

Cmd-⌫

Delete back to the start of the line

Files

Cmd-P opens the file palette. Type a few letters and it fuzzy-matches every note in your repository; press Enter to open one. To start something new, run :enew notes/idea.md or pick > new file from the palette. :delete removes the file you're in. Open files stay loaded, so Cmd-P also flips between the ones you're already working on.

Search

Press /, type, and hit Enter to jump to the first match; n and N walk forward and back through the rest. Search is smartcase — a lowercase query ignores case, a query with a capital in it doesn't — and accents fold both ways, so /ete finds été.

Saving and syncing

Cmd-S (or :w) writes the current file to the SD card. To send your work to the remote, run :gp — it formats, saves, commits, and pushes over Wi-Fi in one step. :gl pulls the other direction, fast-forwarding the working copy to whatever's on the remote. There is no :q: the device is always on, so there's nothing to quit to.

Focus sessions

:focus starts a timed writing block. You keep editing normally and nothing shows a countdown — the timer runs out of sight. After twenty-five minutes, at your next pause in typing, a full-screen card takes over and hides the text. That break is the point; it's hard to keep fiddling with words you can't see. Press c to begin another block, or q / Esc to end the session and go back to writing. Run :focus again to stop early.

Command reference

Type : in normal mode, then one of:

:w

Save the active file (:wq and :x save too)

:enew <file>

Create a new file

:delete

Delete the file you're in

:gp

Publish: format, save, commit, and push to Git

:gl

Pull from the remote (fast-forward only)

:focus

Start or end a focus session

:settings

Open the command palette to change preferences

:setup

Reopen the first-boot wizard (save first)

Preferences

:settings opens a command palette of preferences — theme, line numbers, scroll margin, format on save, and the rest. Selecting one cycles its value on the spot so you can see the change, and it's written back to .typoena.toml in your repository, so your settings travel with your notes.

Setup and recovery

A new device walks you through Wi-Fi, GitHub sign-in, and choosing a repository on its own screen — no computer needed. To run that again, save your work and use :setup. If a card won't boot at all, the troubleshooting page covers resetting it to a blank slate.